Delaware County Fair hosts children, politicians

Aug. 16—The Delaware County Fair welcomed children from near and far to the fairgrounds Tuesday for its annual Children's Day.

There were many activities children could participate in, including a Power Wheels derby, games on the track, a giant sundae, watching 4-H'ers show their animals, a bike giveaway and rides.

Bloomville resident Marcie Sutton was having "tons of fun" taking her 3-year-old daughter Blake on all the kiddie rides at the fair. Marcie said she has been coming to the fair since she was Blake's age and loves the fair every year.

"I love the food," she said.

There was an abundance of food to be had at the fair, including barbecue chicken, clams, shrimp, burgers, hotdogs, ice cream, funnel cakes, pancakes, pizza and cotton candy.

Many people were enjoying their food while they watched horse shows in the horse ring.

One person showing horses was County Sheriff Craig DuMond. DuMond said at the press luncheon Tuesday he competed at the fair growing up as a 4-H'er and a member of FFA. He said he was proud of the partnership between the fair board and the sheriff's department to "always solve problems as a team." He said he had to run so he could change out of his uniform and do a show in the horse ring.

Delaware County District Attorney John Hubbard said he's been coming to the fair for 40 years and still enjoys the atmosphere of the fair.

"I remember coming as a kid and being mesmerized by the farm machinery," he said. "It's great to see the emphasis is still on agriculture and family."

Assemblymen Chris Tague and Joe Angelino, and State Sen. Peter Oberacker, who represent parts of Delaware County, all said they liked the Delaware County Fair because of its tradition and focus on agriculture. Oberacker said he was looking forward to riding his horse in the parade Tuesday.

Tague said when he was a dairy farmer and showing cows, the Delaware County Fair was "one of the best dairy shows in the country."

He said he has seen other fairs become more commercialized and said he enjoyed visiting the Cobleskill, Chenango and Otsego fairs along with Delaware County because it still isn't commercialized.

"We can't allow that to happen in the state," Tague said. "People come to the fairs to get an education."

Angelino, who had also visited the Chenango, Otsego and Broome County fairs, said he has asked at every fair how much they are owed by the state Agriculture and Markets.

Delaware Valley Agricultural Society President Ed Rossley, who is also president of the New York State Association of Fairs, said many fairs borrowed money to complete projects knowing they would get some grant money from the state.

He said fair boards are still waiting for money promised them two years ago and are now paying interest on the money they borrowed. He said Delaware County didn't borrow any money because they didn't want to pay interest.

In addition several town supervisors from throughout the county, County Treasurer Bev Shields and County Clerk Deb Goodrich also attended and spoke at the luncheon.

Rossley said he has attended 41 of the 52 county fairs so far and said he was amazed at the number of differences between the fairs, which was somewhat attributed to how the counties support the fair. For example, he said the Erie County government set aside $8.2 million in their budget for the fair, "no questions asked." He said other county fairs don't get any help from the county budgets.

He said he was thankful that the board of supervisors gave the fair board $265,000 from American Rescue Plan Act funds to do infrastructure projects. He said the piping for the new water lines has been delivered, but the valves won't be shipped until late this year.

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.